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Nilocg fertilizer temporarily makes the water acidic. Try the pH test before and after a dose to see for yourself.

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That's much better. That light blue would indicate maybe a 7.2 - 7.4 pH. TDS is the only other parameter we would like to see. Hopefully your TDS meter arrives soon. Your water parameters look ok so far minus the TDS. As you said, stop the fertilisers for a while and lets see how the shrimp respond to that change. I would avoid Excel as well. Excel is made from Glutaraldehyde (or Glut for short). Do a search on Glutaraldehyde to see what it is and what it is used for. It is a disinfectant that kills all microorganisms, the beneficial bacteria in your tank included. Then consider if you should be putting this in your tank.

What is the parameters of your source water (ie. the water you use for water changes) ? Because KH of 4 does not lend itself to a low pH value of 6-6.4. Your pH is indeed too low for Neocaridina, as Crabby said. I assume this value is without the CO2, and you measured it after a few days to let it gas off. If not, measure pH again after CO2 has been turned off for a day at least. KH of 4 is fine for Neos. So we might not have to change anything if it was just a measurement error. Also, what is your fertilising regime like? Do you add ferts once a week? Do you dump it in all in one go? The sudden change in water parameters when you pour ferts into the tank is not good for shrimps. We can make ferts work with Neos by dosing the same amount used a week but splitting that amount out each day. A little each day rather than a whole lot once a week.

Hey, welcome to the forum! Here's what I noticed: pH is possibly a bit low. I won't go as far to say that's why you're losing shrimp, but it is low for neos. I would do neos between 6.6 and 7.4. Temp, GH and KH look good to me. I personally don't see a need for CO2 or ferts. They can both impact shrimp negatively. Plants will all grow fine without those. CO2 and ferts just act as a bit of a steroid for plants. If it's working now, keep it the same. That's my advice. If you have saddled girls, and moults, then leave it as is. -Crabby

Hi all, I am running perilously low on the Saltyshrimp mineral GH+ that I have and it seems pretty much everyone is out of stock in Australia. Anyone know of anything good that can be used as a stop gap until I can get my hands on some? I am having water issues (probably from trying to ration my mineral for the past month and a bit) so it is using up what little I have left. It is for a small 28 litre planted tank with ~50 CRS. I am in Sydney if anyone has seen any at their local fish shop. Thanks! EBC

Hi all. So some background My 10g tank has: Blue Dreams Amanos 1 Cardinia that stowed away in a plant shipment I got 3 Rainbow Paskais 1 Celestial Danio Phoenix Moss Crinum Calamistratum (Onion Plant) Nymphaea Zenkeri (Tiger Lotus) Bolbitis Heudelotii (Creeping Fern) Eleocharis sp. Mini (Mini Dwarf Hairgrass ) Micranthemum (Monte Carlo) A random piece of Subwasstertang algea but i dont want that The overall goal of this tank is to be a shrimp tank with the neos and maybe a species of Caridina once I'm a little more experienced. But I have a hard time keeping the neos alive a friend who owns the LFS ive been buying them at recommended i try buying from a local shrimper because his shrimp might be more well suited to the local water than the shrimp he buys from abroad because he thinks its weird that im having a tough time with Neos. So I did just that when i met up with him he told me co2 might be the issue since it makes the water acidic and makes molting hard and it makes the water parameters more unstable so I stopped using Co2 for the time being and the shrimp look healthy. But the issue is I would like to keep using Co2 for the benefits to the plants and because id like to keep the carpet ive been working on. Current Parameters Temp: 74.5 F/ 23.6 C Ph: Between 6 and 6.4 (im bad at colors) but its yellow (API Test) Kh: 4 drops the chat says 4 degrees 71 PPM Gh: 6 drops the chart says 6 degrees 107 PPM TDS: Waiting on a meter from amazon. Lights are on between 4 PM and 9:30 PM for those who don't do the military time. Bellow are the spectral percentages of light if this helps anyone. Any advice on how and if I should add Co2?

Thanks both. I have looked around and was keen just to get people's opinions on what has worked for them. I have definitely looked around online to find some and it seems everywhere is overseas and wants exorbitant amounts for shipping. Not impossible but not ideal either. I will have a look into Dennerle Shrimpking mineral fluid. I would definitely prefer a liquid as well. Actually my saltyshrimp has turned into a liquid over time just absorbing water from the air so I am actually just using it as a liquid anyways! Jayc, I would definitely be keen to make my own but since I only have one small tank I feel like it would sort of be overkill. DIY is definitely up my alley though and I may give it a go. I actually came across your post earlier and went down a bit of a rabbit hole before I posted this. The woes of a small apartment is a small tank and no garden to use up the remainder!

Make your own. You can buy Calcium sulphate from here. https://www.keg-king.com.au/calcium-sulphate-caso4-300g.html.html Magnesium sulphate is a lot easier to find. Bunnings will have a huge bag of it that will last you for years. I have a DIY post here that will teach you how to make your own. Make some to give to friends, or sell some. Any remainder can be used in your garden.

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I called my water company they said last they checked the Ph in the local water is 8.0. Will update with the TDS Thursday when the meter arrives. ?

I use a nilocg fertelizer once a week after water changes but i only add one of 5 doses. So i guess ill stop the ferts and maybe just add excel? also after jayC mentioned the ph didnt seem right rerinsed the tubes and ran it again my ph is indeed much higher than i thought. i may need to find the high range ph test https://imgur.com/uu4Vw0p

Indeed. Glad things are more positive for you now.

Update: Saw a baby shrimp yesterday, it has to be a few weeks old based on the size. I didn’t even realize that any CRS/CBS were berried, or far enough along to drop babies.... I didn’t realize how thick the repens had gotten, so if one was hiding that well I suppose kore could be, too. One new berried female CRS along with the two berried tigers. Things are looking good.

Definitely a good call using a breeding box.

Good news. There will be more you can't see hiding somewhere. Glad it worked out fine.

Yeah, I’m glad I put the berried ones in a breeder box. Definitely gonna keep doing that. I’ll share some photos of the egg-saving setup when I can. Found a way to get even more flow in the net, which is really good. I hope maybe some day if this happens to someone else, this thread can be of use. And it was worth the strained eyes and sore back to try to save the baby shrimpies.

Just counted 6 newborns!!! About 6 inches from the feeding dish, i was trying to count berried girls and just watching them go to town on some pieces of rephashy. Then accidentally seen a tiny clear spec move against the black diamond sand.

Lucky you caught it. I bet stuff like that happens more often, but we don't notice. Especially if you have a crowded tank.